You've seen the headlines about the four-day work week. But most talk about a 32-hour week for 100% pay. Your question is more specific, more common, and in many ways, more realistic: can you work 37.5 hours over 4 days? The short answer is yes, absolutely. It's called a compressed work week, and it's a powerful alternative to the standard 9-to-5, Monday-to-Friday grind.
But here's what most articles won't tell you: the biggest hurdle isn't the law or the math. It's the negotiation and the practical, daily execution. I've seen brilliant proposals fail because they focused on the employee's three-day weekend dream, not the manager's fear of coverage gaps. Let's cut through the theory and talk about how this actually works on the ground.
What You'll Find in This Guide
The Basic Math Breakdown (And The Schedule Everyone Gets Wrong)
37.5 hours divided by 4 days is 9.375 hours per day. Most people jump to "9 hours and 22.5 minutes." That's pure working time. But you eat lunch. So your actual schedule is longer.
Let's say your company mandates a 30-minute unpaid lunch break. Your day now spans 9.875 hours (9.375 work + 0.5 lunch). A common, clean schedule looks like this: 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, with a 30-minute lunch at 1:00 PM. That's a 10-hour span with 9.5 hours of paid work? Wait, no. Check the math: 8:00 to 6:00 is 10 hours. Minus 0.5 hours lunch is 9.5 hours of work. That's 0.125 hours (7.5 minutes) more than the 9.375 required.
This is the first micro-negotiation point. Do you work those extra 7.5 minutes per day (30 minutes per week), or does your company adjust the schedule? A fair 37.5-hour schedule might be 8:15 AM to 5:55 PM with a 30-minute lunch. See how fiddly it gets? Most employers round to the nearest 15-minute increment for simplicity.
My Take: Don't get bogged down in the 7.5 minutes. In practice, companies often approve a cleaner "9.5-hour workday with a 45-minute paid lunch" model, effectively treating it as a 38-hour week. The 0.5-hour difference over a year is minor compared to the benefit of a clear, administratively simple schedule. Fight for the principle, not the literal half-hour.
Legal Compliance: The Non-Negotiables You Must Check
"Is this even legal?" is the right first question. The answer depends almost entirely on your location.
| Region/Jurisdiction | Key Law/Framework | Implication for 37.5/4 | What to Verify |
|---|---|---|---|
| European Union / UK | Working Time Directive (EU) / Working Time Regulations 1998 (UK) | Generally permissible. The 48-hour max weekly limit (which you can opt out of in the UK) is not breached. Daily rest (11 consecutive hours) and weekly rest (24 hours) must be protected. | Ensure your 9.5-hour day doesn't violate daily rest rules. If you finish at 6:30 PM and start at 8:00 AM the next day, you get 13.5 hours rest – it's fine. |
| United States (Federal) | Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) | Perfectly legal for exempt (salaried) employees. For non-exempt (hourly) employees, any work over 40 hours in a week requires overtime pay (time-and-a-half). A 37.5-hour week avoids this. | Critical: If you're non-exempt, your employer cannot average hours over two weeks to avoid OT for a 37.5-hour week. Each week stands alone. A 37.5-hour week keeps you under the 40-hour OT threshold. |
| Canada (Provincial) | e.g., Ontario's Employment Standards Act, 2000 | Legal, but may require employer approval for exceeding the standard 8-hour day. Overtime (1.5x) typically kicks in after 44 hours/week in Ontario, so 37.5 is safe. | Check your specific province's rules on maximum daily hours before overtime. Some have daily OT thresholds (e.g., after 8 hours in a day). |
| Australia | National Employment Standards (NES) & Modern Awards | Possible, but heavily governed by your applicable Modern Award or Enterprise Agreement. May require formal variation. | Your Award may have specific span of hours (e.g., 7am-7pm). Your proposed schedule must fit within it. Penalty rates for late finishes may apply. |
The legal green light is usually there. The red tape is in the details—daily rest, overtime thresholds, and award agreements. Always consult your national or state labor department website for the definitive source. For the US, that's the Department of Labor's FLSA page. For the UK, it's GOV.UK's working hours guide.
Crafting Your "Win-Win" Proposal: A Template That Works
This is where most attempts fail. You walk in and say, "I want Fridays off." Your manager hears, "I want to be unavailable 20% of the time." You need to flip the script.
I helped a friend in a project management role get this approved. Here’s the skeleton of his proposal, which you can adapt:
1. The Headline: Benefit to the Company
"Proposal for a Compressed Work Week Trial to Enhance Focus and Project Delivery" – See? It's about output, not time off.
2. The Specific Schedule
"I propose working Monday through Thursday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, with a 45-minute lunch break. This fulfills my 37.5-hour weekly commitment. Fridays would be my non-working day." Be precise.
3. The Coverage Plan (The Most Important Part)
This kills objections. He laid it out:
- Client Meetings: "No client meetings will be scheduled for Fridays. My email signature and calendar will reflect my working days. Urgent Friday client issues will be handled by [Colleague's Name], with a detailed handover from me on Thursday EOD."
- Internal Deadlines: "All internal deliverables will be scheduled for completion by Thursday COB. I will use Thursday afternoons for final reviews and handovers."
- Communication Protocol: "On my non-working day, my email auto-responder will direct urgent matters to [Colleague/Manager]. I will not be expected to monitor Slack or email."
4. The Trial Period
"I suggest a 3-month trial period, after which we review based on:
- Project delivery timelines (maintained or improved)
- Client satisfaction scores (no decline)
- My own performance metrics (KPIs [list yours])"
The Micro-Mistake to Avoid: Don't promise you'll be "available in an emergency." That's a trap. It implicitly makes you on-call and defeats the purpose. Define "emergency" explicitly in your plan (e.g., "system-wide outage affecting revenue") and designate a clear escalation path that doesn't start with you. Protect your boundary from day one.
Pros, Cons, and the Unvarnished Reality Check
Let's be honest. A 9.5-hour day isn't for everyone.
The Good Stuff:
- A Real Weekend: A three-day weekend is transformative for errands, travel, family time, or just decompressing. Sunday stops being a dread day.
- One Less Commute: Save on fuel, time, and stress. That's 20% fewer commutes per week.
- Deep Work Potential: Longer blocks can be great for focused, heads-down work, especially if your mornings are quiet.
The Tough Parts:
- The Long Day Drag: 8 AM to 6 PM is a long haul. Your energy will dip. You'll need to be militant about your lunch break and maybe an afternoon walk.
- Social & Family Friction: You might miss evening events, kids' activities, or dinners. Your partner's schedule may not align.
- The "Creep": The temptation to "just finish this thing" at 6:15 PM is high. You must guard your stop time fiercely.
I tried it for a year. The three-day weekends were glorious. But by Thursday at 5 PM, my brain was often fried. I found I had less bandwidth for evening socializing during the week. It was a trade-off. For a remote or hybrid role, it's easier. For a strict office job with a long commute, those 10-hour days become 12-hour days out of the house. That's brutal.
Your Top Questions Answered (Beyond the Basics)
Frequently Asked Questions
Will switching to a 4-day week hurt my career progression?It can, if you're not visible and your output isn't crystal clear. The bias against non-standard schedules is real, though diminishing. To combat this, you must over-communicate your achievements. Send weekly summary emails on Thursday highlighting completed work. Be extra present and vocal in meetings on your working days. Make your productivity so undeniable that your schedule becomes irrelevant. If your workplace culture heavily values "face time," tread carefully.
How do I handle appointments (doctor, dentist, etc.)?You have two choices, both requiring planning. First, try to book all appointments on your non-working day. This is the ideal scenario and a major perk. Second, if you must book on a workday, schedule them for the very first or last appointment slot (e.g., 8 AM or 5 PM) to minimize disruption. You'll likely need to make up the time elsewhere in the week to hit 37.5 hours. Be transparent with your manager about this system.
What if my team has a critical meeting that can only be on my day off?This is the ultimate test of the arrangement's integrity. The default answer should be: "Is it possible to record the meeting for me to review asynchronously, or can we reschedule it to one of our four shared workdays?" If it's a genuine, rare, business-critical event (e.g., a live crisis response), then attending is reasonable. In that case, you should take a half-day or full day off in lieu later in the month. The principle is reciprocity—your time is respected, and you flex when the business has a true need. Don't let "can only be on Friday" become a weekly habit.
So, can you work 37.5 hours over 4 days? The machinery exists—the math works, the law often allows it, and the templates for proposing it are proven. The real question is whether the structure suits your life and your job's rhythm, and whether you can negotiate it with a focus on business outcomes, not just personal gain. It's a powerful tool, but like any tool, it works best when used with precision and clear intent.
February 8, 2026
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